May 11, 1915, Germany, Berlin City Palace, Reich Military Conference.

The conference room at the Berlin City Palace had been lit up for two days, and Wilhelm II and many German generals, as well as Chief of Staff Falkingham, held a two-day meeting here.

The only reason for the meeting of Wilhelm II, the German Chief of Staff and many other generals gathered here at such an anxious moment of war was, of course, because Germany was currently facing a difficult choice.

No matter how arrogant Wilhelm II was, he had to bitterly admit that Germany had lost the current war, and that any choice could lead to the ruin of decades of German efforts.

If last year's defeat on the Western Front made Germany lose hope of a quick solution to the war, then this year's successive defeats on the Eastern Front and the Western Front have gradually led Germany to the abyss.

The balance of victory was not tilted, and it was almost in favor of the Entente. If Germany could not come up with a corresponding policy to deal with it, I am afraid that the current situation would not last long, and defeat in the war would almost become inevitable.

No one can deny the strength of the German army. In this war, the combat effectiveness of the German army far exceeded that of Britain, France and Russia, and in the early stage, it even almost collapsed in France.

But unfortunately, in the end, it was defeated by France with a hearty victory, and the Western Front battlefield became a protracted war of attrition under the joint efforts of Britain, France, and Australia.

After entering the new year, the battlefield on the Eastern Front is also full of reports of defeat. Russia defeated the Austro-Hungarian army and the German East Prussian army, occupied Galicia and Silesia, and the eastern hinterland of Germany was already in danger.

At present, the main forces of Austria-Hungary, Germany's only reliable ally, were lost, and Italy also took refuge in the Entente.

The remaining two allies, Turkey and Bulgaria, did not play a key role in the war, and their own security could not be guaranteed even if they were under the combined siege of the Balkan states, let alone supporting Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Under all these circumstances, the current situation of the Allies, especially Germany, can be imagined.

Even if it can withstand a strong offensive on the battlefield on the Western Front, there is still a great enemy of Russia on the Eastern Front. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was now in a state of discouragement, and Turkey and Bulgaria were also pinned down by the Balkan Alliance.

At present, whether it is the Eastern Front or the Western Front, only the German army can be relied on.

The pre-war Allies were quite confident that the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies would have no problem working together to protect the shipping routes in the Mediterranean, and that Germany would quickly settle France on the Western Front, and that the war could end in half a year.

But unexpectedly, Italy never thought of joining the Allies, and the Austro-Hungarian navy was beaten by France and Russia in the Mediterranean, not to mention protecting the transportation lines of the Mediterranean, and whether it could enter the Mediterranean Sea was a problem.

This also led to the almost cutting off of the Allied sea transportation routes, coupled with the protracted war of attrition on the Western Front, which was already inferior in terms of resources, and the Allies suffered unspeakably.

Speaking of which, Wilhelm II's hatred for Italy deepened. Italy, as a last-class power, was simply vulnerable to its military strength.

If it weren't for Germany's perception that Italy's naval strength was not bad, and for the conclusion of the Triple Alliance with Italy and Austria-Hungary, Italy would not have been able to achieve the status it has now.

In the previous Italo-Turkish war, if it were not for the support of Austria-Hungary and Germany for Italy, Italy would not have been able to expand in the Balkans.

If Italy had joined the Central Powers, the shipping routes in the Mediterranean would not have been completely cut off, and the Allies would not have been so short of supplies.

Italy's armies would also be able to share the task of fighting on the eastern and western fronts, so that the Allies would be much better off on both the eastern and western fronts.

"Chief of Staff Falkingham, tell me about your plan!" Wilhelm II set his sights on Moltke Jr.'s successor, Lieutenant General Falkingham, former Minister of War.

The defeat in the war made the proud Wilhelm II look much older, and he did not speak as aggressively and arrogantly as before.

"Your Majesty, the current war on the eastern and western fronts is very unfavorable for us, and no matter what measures are taken, we must get rid of the situation of fighting on the eastern and western fronts." Chief of Staff Falkingham replied in the affirmative.

"It will be difficult for us to make a breakthrough on the Western Front, and on the Eastern Front we will have to rely on most of our forces to deal with Russia and the Balkan Alliance. My suggestion is that Austria-Hungary, our most important ally at the moment, must be kept. In the event that Austria-Hungary loses the war again, there is a high probability that they will withdraw from this war, which is extremely disadvantageous for us. Turkey and Bulgaria contributed very little to the war, and without Austria-Hungary, our defeat would have been obvious. The Chief of Staff, Falkingham, spoke of the current state of affairs and at the same time looked at Wilhelm II.

Wilhelm II nodded, although Wilhelm II's military talent was not excellent, but compared to Nicholas II, who was a complete military novice, he knew a little.

"So Chief of Staff, what is your opinion?" Wilhelm II was ready and asked.

"Your Majesty, although we have also experienced a defeat on the Eastern Front, it is because the vast majority of the Russian army is facing the Austro-Hungarian army. As long as our main army goes to the Eastern Front, it is not impossible to defeat the Russians and even get them out of the war altogether. As long as Russia withdraws from the war, the dilemma of our two-front war will be solved, and the Western Front alone is not impossible for us to deal with. Chief of Staff Falkingham slowly said the plan that had been prepared in his heart.

Wilhelm II nodded, but was not ready for a complete change in the tactics of the war at this time, but looked at the other generals and the top brass of the Ministry of Defense and asked for the opinions of others.

Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the commanders in chief of the Eastern Front, naturally agreed with Falkingham, while the commanders-in-chief of the armies on the Western Front had different views, but generally supported the continuation of the offensive on the Western Front.

After all, if the strategic focus is placed on the Eastern Front, the logistical treatment of the armies on the Western Front will also be lowered by one level.

Not only will the battles faced become smaller, but the opportunities for meritorious service will also be much less, after all, the Eastern Front was the main battlefield of the war at that time, and it was the place where meritorious service could be made the most.

Seeing that Wilhelm II had not made up his mind for a long time, Hindenburg threw out heavy news at this time, saying: "Your Majesty, according to our intelligence, Russia has already accumulated heavy troops in Galicia, and it is very likely that it will take the opportunity of this offensive on the Western Front to launch a large-scale strategy again.

If the Russians broke through the front and crossed the Carpathians into Hungary, it would be a devastating blow to Austria-Hungary. Even if Austria-Hungary could hold on, the Balkan League would take the opportunity to open a new front in the southern part of Austria-Hungary. Fighting on two fronts is already very disadvantageous for us, and if a new front is opened, neither we nor Austria-Hungary can support it.

On the contrary, a victory on the Eastern Front would not only allow Austria-Hungary to breathe a sigh of relief, but also allow the Balkan countries to see who is the most powerful country in the world, and take the opportunity to draw the Balkan alliance to our side and change the current situation of the war. ”

The worst news for Germany at the moment is that Russia is preparing to launch another campaign on the Eastern Front.

The Eastern Front had just experienced a new defeat, and Austria-Hungary simply could not afford to suffer another major defeat.

This also represents the fact that, whether the German side wants it or not, the current strategy must shift to the eastern front, unless Germany is willing to lose Austria-Hungary as an ally.

The generals of the German Eastern and Western Fronts looked at each other and finally had to accept the fact that from now on, Germany would gradually move its forces eastward and place its main offensive direction on the Eastern Front.

"All right, everybody. So let's start talking about the specific plan of the Eastern Front! "Wilhelm II was quite pleased with the reaction of the officers, at least not because of the strategic shift that led to dissatisfaction or quarrels.

Wilhelm II first looked at Chief of Staff Falkingham. As the top decision-maker of the German military, Falkingham's opinion was very important, after all, he was also the first to propose a strategic eastward shift.

"Your Majesty, the first thing we need to do is to completely stop the offensive on the Western Front. All armies on the Western Front immediately went on the defensive, and if necessary, they could abandon all the occupied territories and keep only the Belgian region, which would be the basis for our counteroffensive on the Western Front in the future. Falkingham did not hesitate at all and said his plan.

"At the same time, twenty to thirty divisions from the Western Front will be sent to the Eastern Front to help our allies hold the borders of the Eastern Front. If possible, I hope that at least 50 divisions will continue to be organized in the country to join the fighting, which will be of vital importance to our Eastern Front. ”

Hearing the plan of the chief of staff of Falkingham, Wilhelm II had some doubts and asked: "20 to 30 divisions from the battlefields of the Western Front?" There will be no problems on the battlefield on the Western Front, right? ”

"If the Western Front is on the offensive, there may be problems. However, as long as our Western Front battlefield enters a state of total defense, it will not be a problem to transfer twenty or thirty divisions. As long as the recruitment of domestic recruits can keep up, we can fill the vacancy of the shortage of soldiers on the Western Front within half a year, and we can also strengthen the defense of the Western Front. Chief of Staff Falkingham replied with a slight affirmative.

The combat capability of the German army was still good, and if it was only defensive, it would not be a problem to keep the enemy troops on the Western Front out of the defensive line, at least that's what Chief of Staff Falkingham felt.

Wilhelm II nodded at this time, if it was only for half a year, there should be no problem for the German army to come to the battlefield on the Western Front.

Half a year is also enough time for the government to train at least 50 divisions of recruits, which will be of great help to both the Western Front and the Eastern Front in half a year.

More importantly, although the number of Allied armies on the Western Front was huge, the 500,000 Italian troops were vulnerable to combat effectiveness, and the vast majority of the Australasian army was only ordinary indigenous troops.

Although the size of the British and French armies was as high as more than 1 million, their combat effectiveness was slightly insufficient compared to the German army, and it was no problem to hold on to the offensive of these armies.

With the large number of casualties on both sides, there have been rounds of recruits who have gone to the Western Front first, which has also reduced the combat capability of the armies of both sides to a certain extent.

The British army, in particular, was small in number before the war and was only temporarily conscripted after the outbreak of the war.

I don't know how much lower the combat quality of these recruits is than that of the German reserve troops, and there is naturally a noticeable gap in the combat effectiveness of the army.

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(End of chapter)